Learning in the MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) environment is different than a brick and mortar school. There are some advantages and a few disadvantages. But the biggest advantage is probably in the way you study.Studying can be hard, especially if you do not set time aside to do any studying. If you were the kid who could listen to lectures in school and never crack a book and still get good grades, you may not do so well in MOOCs. You have to pay some attention to the lessons in the classes.

For instance, if a professor has set up a quiz to be done right after watching the videos and, possibly, watching or reading some additional resources, you can bet your big toenails that the questions on the quiz will directly relate to what you just studied. If you are used to being spoon fed data through a classroom setting, you will have to adapt to do well in MOOCs.

But this will actually work in the favor of someone who has always studied hard in their classes. A person who studies will know they have to watch the lecture videos which represent class time in the non-MOOC setting. They will know they have to access all data available, with the exception of optional resources.

Instructors will usually tell the students what the quizzes cover, whether they cover just the video lectures or whether quizzes also cover additional required resources. These resources could be other videos such as YouTube videos on the subject at hand, or websites that present data relative to the topic for the week. Often these websites contain written data, scholarly- or research-like, that appy to the course. If the instructor says that data is needed in a quiz, it is to the student's best interest to access and study that material.

In Coursera, the availability of the text for a video lecture does make it easier to understand the video and aids in studying. Once a student is familiar with the video lecture page in Coursera, they will know how to access this text. What I do, and I think this is because my own studying works best when I read data, I open that text file, then copy and paste it into my own WordPad file, then either read it before I view the lecture or while I am viewing the lecture. This allows me to highlight in bold, italic, and underline certain passages that I consider important. It also allows me to take additional notes that may not be contained in the video lecture text.

Sometimes the text has not yet been transcribed for a video. This may happen early in the course, but if a course is on its second or third showing, that transcribed file will probably be available. When I am viewing the video, I can easily (in the Windows operating system - Windows OS) toggle between both the video and my WordPad file by using the Alt-Tab keys. Try it now, if you have a couple of windows open and see what I mean. But do not do Alt-F4, because you will close your current window!

Some professors also provide their lecture slides in PDF and/or Word format. This helps me greatly too, as I study those slides before the video so I know what is going to occur in the video. I can do a print screen of certain slides to insert in the WordPad file that I created for the video lecture (technical page of how to do this coming soon - see Technical Notes page). I often keep one week all together rather than building a separate file for each video lecture. This enables me to study a whole week at a time in one concise file that I created. That is one of the best things about MOOCs - it is now much easier to take good notes.

Beware though, some professors present a slide show, but then when the actual video lecture is shown you will see the professor drawing all over his or her slides adding additional information. This is especially true in medical or health classes where data is progressive for an individual slide. If this is the case, and you want to have that data in your WordPad notes, then just stop the video and do a print screen of what the professor added, and put it in your WordPad file.

In some classes it was quite difficult to do this. Medical Neuroscience was one of those classes as the professor made copious notes and slides in his PDF/Word format were not always complete. That made it crucial to watch the video lectures and sometimes even re-watch them for complete understanding. Remember, in another blog I said I loved the Medical Neuroscience course. I loved it because it was just so thorough and involved that it took all my faculties to learn in that class. It was very enjoyable (but I am an anatomy and physiology nut anyway) and the data I learned was reinforced in so many different ways that I did not forget it, which is a crucial step in the learning process.

Another instructor used formulas and symbols quite frequently. For that class, "Synapse, Neurons, and Brains," I had to revert back to old fashioned paper and pencil to take my notes. Fortunately, I had an old steno notebook close to me and I stopped the video and took notes as the instructor went along. I actually had to stop those videos more often to take notes, as the instructor was talking faster than I could write. And even though his text for the video was available, the symbols that were being written on the blackboard in the video were not in the text, nor were they in his slide show that accompanied the text.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with this teaching method. What is really wrong is that no one has devised a simple software that works to create symbols. In Word, you have to access the symbol dialog box then you can only load some symbols at a time (one, two, not sure how many, but if you have to add an equal sign to the formula, you have to open up the symbol box again to add more symbols to the equation - very tedious). I do know that there are programs that do this, I am just not yet trained in any so cannot recommend any to you. There is the possibility that one could use a drawing program that allowed you to draw your notes right into your WordPad file, or at least create them in one file, then copy and paste them to the WordPad file or do a print screen of them. I have not found that program yet, though I did buy a drawing tablet that I hoped would work for that. It did not. If anyone knows how to do this simply and at low cost (like free), I would be forever grateful. I have taken programming classes through Coursera (three at least, and I never get past the first week), and some of these instructors use this method of writing on a tablet and posting their data. They have the answer. Maybe next time I take a course like this, I will just ask the instructor. Of course, cost is an issue, and instructors working through universities have budgets for this kind of thing. At present, I do not and you may not either, so just use the old pencil and paper method.Yes, we can take quizzes right after we watch a video, but how long will that data really stay in our heads? Remembering something takes repetitive reinforcement. Once I heard that if you wanted to remember someone's name, you had to say it within the first minute you met that person, then again within an hour, then once more in the twenty-four hours following your first meeting. I have used this mnemonic device and it does work.

It is the same with studying. If you are just taking a class to pass or fail and not to apply it in a work or academic setting, then maybe you don't care that you forget the data in a month. Some folks, though, study to utilize the information, and if that is you, try some of my suggestions.

As for the slide presentations the instructors create, you might be able to save them to your hard drive, and I have done that in some instances when the data was extremely helpful. But in all honesty, I don't expect to ever access that data again, unless, of course, I am writing something about it and I, through some fluke of memory magic, remember exactly where, in what file, that data resides.Another thing to do, if it is not done for you as some classes provide a glossary, is to write down words you don't know. Oh, I don't really mean write them down, I mean actually stop the video or reading, and copy and paste or just type that word into your Google bar search engine maybe with the word "define" after it (if you don't have a search engine bar at the top of your browser get one, it does not have to be Google - and I am not sure if this is available for mobile yet). Then open up another tab (or you will lose your place in the video or reading) and click go in the search bar, or highlight the word(s) and hit enter so that you will have a list of different websites that explain what that word means in the new tab.

If the word is scientific, you might find entries beyond just dictionaries (often Wikipedia will explain a word in more depth than a dictionary). Often you do not even have to open up a website, as search engines often pick up the first few words on a web page and it could well be the data you need. Then, if that word is important to you or to the class, copy it and the definition into your WordPad file so when you study later, you will know what it means without having to go through this whole process again.

Now, a little note about plagiarism. One, plagiarism is the outright stealing of another's works, usually written. It is taboo in academia, not good for the workplace, could be criminally punished in a court of law, and could get you kicked out of school. If you intend to use that definition somewhere in your own writings, you need to have the source where you copied it from when you write your "original" work. So, if need be, copy the URL (website address) so you can go back when you are writing your work to make sure you cite and reference it correctly (somewhere down the road I will address writing and referencing, but this may be a few weeks out - look for Writing topic in my blog pages soon, but until then just do a search on referencing and citing, there are plenty of pages that address the issue; personally, I prefer APA at the current time).

The second thing about plagiarism that I want to mention is that it is plain out cheating. You stole something that wasn't yours. You can't give it back, and it makes you look like something you are not...you are not being original. Better to put the words of others into your own thoughts. Paraphrase what someone writes or says, or just don't use it at all. This is going to be important when I discuss assignments later on but for now, just get the definition into your WordPad file while studying the video lectures or required resources and move on.

So, I have taught you a few things about studying and about note taking, as when you do a quiz, and most MOOC quizzes are open book because the instructor knows you have access to your computer, you want to be able to answer the questions quickly and accurately. MOOC quizzes are either multiple choice or true/false though some instructors are experimenting with the essay format. And some instructors tell you whether you got the question right or wrong. Not all do this, not all give you a second chance to take the quiz either. I think this depends on whether the instructor is preparing the course to be an accredited course through his or her university at some point in the future.

And, truthfully, different professors have different teaching styles. By taking different MOOCs, you will encounter these different styles and you will be able to determine which teaching methods(s) you like the best - if an instructor is going to be hard in a class, giving quizzes, multiple assignments, and requiring weekly discussion forum input, you may wish to take that course later down the road after you have more experience at doing a MOOC. Otherwise, you might get frustrated with the process and give up. Remember, it is a pass/fail grade in a class in which you are not going to get punished by failing (except what you do to yourself, unless your employer is requiring you to pass the class).

A little about open book quizzes. If the instructor says you are not to access your notes while taking the quiz, it is your own honor in doing the course that is at stake. As of yet, no instructor that I have seen has punished anyone for their own work being instrumental in their success in class. I believe instructors expect you to look at your own work, your own notes, and possibly the video lectures and resources while you take those quizzes. I am not sure on this, and some with extremely high standards would not even think to do this.

What I have found is that by accessing my own notes while taking a quiz, I have actually reinforced my own learning by having to go over my notes one more time. Of course, my notes are directly from the videos, the actual text taught in the course, and, therefore, I know they are accurate as to what the instructor wanted me to learn. You may take notes differently. Because of my own learning differences, I have found I need to learn through the written word - it just works better for me.

If you think your instructor would not want you to use your notes, write a post (start a thread) in the discussion forums and put it out there for the instructor to answer. You might be quite surprised at the different responses you get from both students and professors. To be honest, I have not seen this addressed in any of the forums, but then again, I have not accessed every forum for every class I have taken. One instructor I had, and the only one who did this, actually expected us to find data that was not in her video lectures. And because search engines often post a way to look at images, I was able to find out more than she taught in class by this search process and then was able to answer her quiz questions. She was forthright about this, telling us that we would have to do a little extra work to get the answers, so I fully expect she was pushing us to search out the answers. She was supplementing her work through an acceptable process, one that, again, reinforced what was learned in the video lectures and even spurred us on to learning more. At first, I thought this was a terrible idea, until she mentioned it in one of her announcements (probably in response to some students having trouble with these quizzes who posted it in their discussion forum threads), and then I realized she was trying to inspire us to take the time to view other artists in the fields of art we were studying, as she could not possibly present them all in a MOOC. It was a good learning experience, one I will want to utilize if I ever teach a MOOC or other online course.Now, some courses actually have web meetings, often through Google hangouts, where students can come with questions for the instructors and instructors can present slide presentations and additional data for the students. These additional interactive online meetings are not usually utilized for tests because not all students can access this data due to technical differences. Therefore, instructors do not require attendance at these functions. Usually, these meetings are archived and available for viewing at a later date. The additional data learned may add to a student's own education, and should not be ignored (depending on time and pass/fail requirements set by each student for themselves). Sometimes the supplemental instruction given in these meetings has helped on the quizzes, and if an instructor has the hangout just before the quiz but the archived version is not available until after the quiz happens, there could be some questions that will be harder to answer. Sneaky teachers do this (what, a teacher can be sneaky? You bet ya!), but, in my humble opinion, when I catch a teacher doing that, I laugh at my own inadequacies which usually relate to self-inflicted time pressure trauma. If the difference is between getting a 90% and a 100% on a test, well, is it worth it? It is if you miss an assignment or quiz that was crucial to your grade and you need those extra points.

Quizzes can be designed to be easy or can be hard, depending on the instructor and the depth of material. If you find you are not liking a class or the teacher's quiz style, just use the class for information and forget the pass/fail option. You will still have access to the data as long as it is listed in Coursera, and you will have a foot in the door when they reopen the course the next time. Quizzes should not intimidate you, but should be recognized as another learning process. I will caution you, though, if you have not studied the material (and I can say this from my own personal experience, as time gets away), do not expect to do well on the quiz. If the quiz is only offered one time, then you need to be prepared. If you can repeat the quiz several times, you can actually improve your score.

Some teachers are here to teach, not to judge with grades. The grading system is an effective way for the instructors and Coursera to judge that teacher and that class, as post class analytics can reveal trends and possible areas that need adjustment (more on analytics in a future blog, see Analytics). This all works in the students favor as MOOCs improve with each class showing. Some professors expect you to try to get good grades and will plan their quizzes and exams around good study habits. It is up to you to decide how hard to study, how hard a class is for your own skillset, and whether it is worth it to you to battle it out.

Remember, the class if FREE, so make sure you are enjoying it as you do it! Learning does not have to be a struggle, and everyone has the right to become a life-long learning on this planet. When I am 90 or 100 years old, I still want to be learning, even if it is just how glorious a great-grandchild's smile is when they visit a zoo or museum or take a walk with me in the park!

Go for it. It only takes your time, and if you are breathing, you still have time! Don't let studying be a bad word in your life. Just learn how to learn!